Cougar Business Alliance Blog

The event was held at the offices of local law firm Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt in Downtown Vancouver and MC’d by Phil Haberthur '00 – a product of WSU Vancouver.

Joining Phil were other attorneys or partners with Schwabe in making a general presentation to the group regarding practical legal matters for self employed small business owners as well as individuals interested in starting/purchasing a small business.

Attendance was good with around 20 or so in total – those who attended seemed to be engaged and interested, taking the opportunity to ask questions and participating in the general discussion.  The attorney’s seemed to really enjoy the opportunity to host the event and provided beverages to be enjoyed.

All in all I thought it was a very good event, spotlighting a local WSUV grad while offering some interesting quality information to the members of the CBA in an informal environment where those who attended had a chance to network and visit as well.

The very successful Cougar Business Alliance at the Al Angelo Company building in Downtown Vancouver included media advice from a great range of Cougar-friendly experts. More than 16 people attended the meeting and were able to interact with outdoor ad expert Mark Mersky and radio representative Adam Orth from Clear Channel, print guru John McDonagh of the Vancouver Business Journal, and KGW’s online wizard, Frank Mungeam, who is also an Adjunct Professor with WSU Vancouver's Creative Media & Digital Culture program.

Each speaker shared the benefits of how their area of extpertise can benefit businesses and how all four areas can work nicely together as a complete package. A tip from Frank was to make sure your business' Facebook page is interactive to really learn from your fans.

To learn more about the Cougar Business Alliance and upcoming events, check back on this blog for dates or check your email for upcoming meetings and opportunities.

Brad Ellertson, WSU Vancouver ’08, never wanted to give up the sports he grew up playing like football, basketball, kickball and dodgeball. And he wanted to remain active after he graduated and not become just a snack-eating spectator of his favorite games. With these goals in mind, he and three buddies opened Breakaway Social Sports.

The business offers a competitive league where people can play sports they enjoy, meet new people and establish friendships. It also promotes a healthy, active lifestyle. And Breakaway Social Sports gives back to the community through its “Play for a Purpose” campaign. Ten percent of each team’s registration fees are donated to charity.

“There are many areas of my business that reflect values instilled in me while attending WSU. Just doing something you enjoy and knowing that it is having a real impact in the community and in people’s lives is something I know every Cougar believes in. And that is what our goal is—having a real impact in the real world,” said Ellertson.

Ellertson said his favorite thing about being a Coug is the sense of family among alumni.

“I met another Coug in an airport in Lisbon, Portugal. He had his WSU shirt on and when we passed each other I said, "Go Cougs" and he replied back, "Go Cougs.” That sense of school spirit and loyalty is second to none,” said Ellertson.

Ellertson is a Vancouver native and values having WSU Vancouver in his community.

“Not only is it an excellent school and a beautiful campus, but it is also having a tremendous impact in the community. When you combine individual enrichment through education and community development through various WSU Vancouver programs, the effects will stretch far beyond Vancouver.”

Thank you to the Vancouver Business Journal for co-sponsoring the quarterly meeting. The Grant House was a great meeting space for us.

Attending the meeting was: Staci Orth, Prudential NW Real Estate; Dan Wyatt, Pop Culture; Brenda Schoenman, Accounting Resource Group; Starrla Allen, Big Al's Bowling; Vince Allen, Endeavourz Training; Mikeila Nienaber, Project Healthy Lifestyle; Karen Watkins, Main Street Trader; Lindsay Fisher, Evergreen Memorial Gardens; Mike Bomar, SW Washington Contractors Association; John McDonagh, Vancouver Business Journal; Josh LaCross, Alliance Steel Distributing, LLC; Benjamin Carson, Waddell & Reed Inc; Christie Soanka, Soanka Development Group; Adam Orth, Clear Channel Communications; Brian Fleetwood, First Independent Bank; Bob Adams, Payment Processing Direct; and Jeff Day, Columbia Credit Union.

After everyone visited and met one another, John McDonagh welcomed everyone and thank everyone for coming. Jeanne Kojis was introduced to the group and began speaking about how many non-profits are in the United States and that one in ten people are employeed by a non-profit. She also explained who oversees non-profits in the state of Washington and how we can find a list of all the 501c3s and non-profits in Washington or in Clark County.

Jeanne explained more about Nonprofit Networks and how they are engaged with the community and support the non-profits in Clark County. She added that if a business does partner with a non-profit or shares on their website that they are raising money for a non-profit, to be sure to clear using the non-fit's logo and name beforehand on the website, so there isn't any confusion or problems down the road.

A few questions were asked about the difference between a 501c3 and a non-profit and also how to start a non-profit. Jeanne repsonded to both questions and referred people to the Nonprofit Network site to also get more information about both of those subjects.